Nutrition Plan after Kidney Transplant

A proper nutrition and dietary plan is important for a successful kidney transplant. Nutrition supplement helps the body to accept the new kidney, and there is a possibility that people may gain weight after kidney transplant. The weight gain is associated to lessened dietary restrictions and increased appetite due to using certain medicines such as prednisone. Your doctor will monitor your diet to make sure you stay healthy.

What might be the nutrition plan to follow after kidney transplant?

After renal transplantation, supplementing phosphorus will be suggested to help keep bone health. When the kidneys are damaged or failing, your bones don’t get the amount of phosphorus they need to stay health. When a new kidney replaces the failed one and begin to produce increased amounts of phosphorus, people experience a condition known as “hungry bone syndrome”. So doctors may prescribe some phosphorus pills and advise to get sufficient amounts of phosphorus by eating whole grain foods and low-fat dairy foods. Calcium should also be added to your diet to meet the need for rebuilding weak bones.

Some transplant medicines may cause your blood potassium levels to dramatically increase or decrease. This is a serious condition however it will not last long. People should eat the foods their dietitian recommends to make sure blood potassium level is within normal range.

In addition, many people may experience high blood pressure or fluid retention after transplantation. If hypertension or fluid retention problems are troubling you, you will be suggested to follow a low-sodium dietary plan. While the phosphorus and potassium problems can be corrected in one month or two, a low sodium diet may need to be followed indefinitely.

One of the most important foods that is needed after transplantation surgery is protein. Proteins help to rebuild muscle and tissue that was damaged when the kidneys are poorly functioning. Also because of the healing and replenishing of nutrients the body will be going through after surgery, it is essential to increase the intake of proteins in your diet. Lean meat, egg whites and such dairy foods as milk are good choices for this purpose. However, you will need to monitor the intake of protein under doctor’s guidance and prevent eating too much and causing weight gain.

Fresh food is key to kidney transplant patients because providing fresh nutrients will help the healing process and acceptance of the new kidney. When you take frozen foods home, get them into the freezer immediately to prevent any kind of contamination. Clean all kinds of foods separately before preparing them.